Drew Meyers Bloghttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com
Drew MeyersMon, 31 Jul 2017 23:32:50 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.9Twitter to Get into Live Videohttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/05/21/twitter-get-live-video/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/05/21/twitter-get-live-video/#respondSun, 21 May 2017 19:59:37 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5935I just listened to the Too Embarrassed to Ask podcast about Twitter’s entry into live video. Can we get one thing straight? There is zero need for 24/7 news in people’s lives.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/05/21/twitter-get-live-video/feed/0Who Remembers Playing the F*cking Recorder? Or not Playing?http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/03/11/remembers-fing-recorder/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/03/11/remembers-fing-recorder/#respondSat, 11 Mar 2017 20:20:15 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5930I was listening to City of the Sun last night, and got to thinking about that stupid instrument I had to play in 4th/5th grade. The flute. Nope. Actually, the recorder. It was 25 years ago, but I have a couple distinct memories from music class. One, my teacher looking at me with that look that I knew meant “what the heck are you doing ruining the song for the entire class? How are you so bad at this?“. Second, constantly pretending to play along, but not really blowing at all (so as not to actually make any noise) without getting caught by the teacher. So, who else played that f*cking recorder — but didn’t really PLAY the recorder? [Graphic via Musicalnose.com]

I was listening to City of the Sun last night, and got to thinking about that stupid instrument I had to play in 4th/5th grade.

The flute.

Nope.

Actually, the recorder.

It was 25 years ago, but I have a couple distinct memories from music class.

One, my teacher looking at me with that look that I knew meant “what the heck are you doing ruining the song for the entire class? How are you so bad at this?“. Second, constantly pretending to play along, but not really blowing at all (so as not to actually make any noise) without getting caught by the teacher.

So, who else played that f*cking recorder — but didn’t really PLAY the recorder?

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/03/06/nationalism-vs-globalism/feed/0App.net Shutting Down, Ello, Hello Network, Treem…and Facebookhttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/01/12/app-net-shutting-ehlo/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2017/01/12/app-net-shutting-ehlo/#respondFri, 13 Jan 2017 06:34:09 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5925App.net is shutting down. I haven’t heard anyone mention Ello since…it launched in 2014. They are now branding themselves as “The Creators Network”. I wonder how that is going? Treem is another recent entrant. I recently listened to a RE/CODE podcast with the founder of Orkut (his name is also Orkut). He’s working on a new social network called the Hello Network. I still believe the downfall of Facebook is entirely possible, perhaps even probable. But who, and how? The chicken and egg problem is very, very real. Tackling “social” is fucking hard… there’s no doubt about that, as proved by the graveyard of attempts that grows by the month.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/11/03/cities-of-sleep/feed/0ESPN’s Business Model is in Deep Troublehttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/11/02/espns-business-model-deep-trouble/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/11/02/espns-business-model-deep-trouble/#respondWed, 02 Nov 2016 16:23:35 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5913ESPN lost 621,000 subscribes in one month; their worst month ever. Shiza (shit, in German), that’s a lot of people –at $7 per subscriber per month in revenue. I’ve been watching the World Series using the fox sports go Apple TV app. All I had to do was “verify” a cable subscription with a login — which of course could be swapped at anytime with a verification from another cable company. Fox now has a direct relationship with me through a technology intermediary that has my credit card. I’m one click from paying Fox a monthly subscription for their content. Or maybe a world series game is $2 to watch. Yes, I’d absolutely pay that. Live sports is … Continue reading →

Shiza (shit, in German), that’s a lot of people –at $7 per subscriber per month in revenue.

I’ve been watching the World Series using the fox sports go Apple TV app. All I had to do was “verify” a cable subscription with a login — which of course could be swapped at anytime with a verification from another cable company. Fox now has a direct relationship with me through a technology intermediary that has my credit card. I’m one click from paying Fox a monthly subscription for their content. Or maybe a world series game is $2 to watch. Yes, I’d absolutely pay that.

Live sports is really the only content on TV many deem worth paying for. And if that’s all you value, you’re not likely to continue subsidizing all the other content that you don’t watch/value. You’ll simply cut your entire monthly bill, and watch the games you care about at a friends house or bar, or stream it illegally.

The article is right — why wouldn’t sports leagues simply go direct to the consumer? The answer is they will, which doesn’t bode well for ESPN in a world where distribution isn’t dependent on business development deals but on the hearts and minds of everyday consumers.

Though likely still years off though due to contractual obligations, there will come a time when media outlets such as ESPN, FoxSports, CNN and professional sports leagues like MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA, etc have enough direct relationships with consumers to tell the cable companies to take a hike.

The quicker change will come from new entirely digital TV stations which build their business based on the new, future world where consumers can subscribe direct — meaning they don’t need all the overhead old media companies needed in terms of sales teams and business development.

Apple is going to kill the cable companies — and change the market dynamics for established television media entities — particularly with their recent announcement around enabling better discovery on the Apple TV. A digital “TV Guide” to discover content available across your entire Apple TV. If I’m ESPN, I’d be pretty worried about the future.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/11/02/espns-business-model-deep-trouble/feed/0Journeying to Marshttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/10/26/journeying-to-mars/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/10/26/journeying-to-mars/#respondWed, 26 Oct 2016 19:54:46 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5910I don’t know about you, but I think Elon made a convincing case that inhabiting Mars is going to happen.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/10/26/journeying-to-mars/feed/0How to Build a Strong Online Communityhttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/10/20/build-strong-online-community/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/10/20/build-strong-online-community/#respondFri, 21 Oct 2016 05:32:32 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5908The post How to Build a Strong Online Community appeared first on Drew Meyers Blog.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/09/14/adidas-recycled-ocean-shoe/feed/0The (Almost) Eulogy of Oh Hey Worldhttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/09/06/almost-eulogy-oh-hey-world/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/09/06/almost-eulogy-oh-hey-world/#respondWed, 07 Sep 2016 04:00:17 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5888Over the past few years, I’ve worked on two travel apps – Oh Hey World (OHW) and, more recently, Horizon. Anyone that has slaved away on a startup knows how hard they are. The hundreds of hours. The stressful nights. The weekends spent in front of your computer while friends are out having fun. It really is like nurturing a baby (from what I’ve heard). We’re still very much working on Horizon (we’ve been working on Android), but related to Oh Hey World… When is enough, enough? For the answer, head to Oh Hey World and read my deeper dive…

]]>Over the past few years, I’ve worked on two travel apps – Oh Hey World (OHW) and, more recently, Horizon.

Anyone that has slaved away on a startup knows how hard they are. The hundreds of hours. The stressful nights. The weekends spent in front of your computer while friends are out having fun. It really is like nurturing a baby (from what I’ve heard).

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/09/06/almost-eulogy-oh-hey-world/feed/0Delivering Great Travel Planning Advice – A Story of Misaligned Incentiveshttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/07/03/delivering-great-travel-planning-advice-story-misaligned-incentives/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/07/03/delivering-great-travel-planning-advice-story-misaligned-incentives/#respondSun, 03 Jul 2016 21:46:52 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5864There’s no shortage of startups who have tried to unseat TripAdvisor as the de-facto place to figure out what to do while planning a trip. They are all stories of misaligned incentives. Read more of my thoughts on the subject over on Medium.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/07/03/delivering-great-travel-planning-advice-story-misaligned-incentives/feed/0Evrnu, Recycled Cotton, the the Future of Apparelhttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/22/evrnu-recycled-cotton-future-apparel/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/22/evrnu-recycled-cotton-future-apparel/#respondSun, 22 May 2016 20:39:06 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5891I’m a huge fan of big crazy ambitious goals to benefit society, and I see enormous value in what Evrnu is working on. They are recycling cotton garment waste to create renewable fiber. And, yes, Seattle is an amazing place where world changing ideas are being started.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/22/evrnu-recycled-cotton-future-apparel/feed/0Seattle Angel Conference IX Recaphttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/15/seattle-angel-conference-ix-recap/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/15/seattle-angel-conference-ix-recap/#respondSun, 15 May 2016 22:37:05 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5869Friday marked the 9th Seattle Angel Conference. I spent the day at Impact HUB, watching the pitches and mingling in the crowd. This is the second SAC I’ve volunteered at, and I noticed an increase in attendance from November’s event. The day started off with several alumni updates previous events, a few open remarks by John Sechrest, and then Bob Crimmins laid out the agenda for the rest of the day. Wade Brooks, executive director of Angel Resource Institute, spoke about tracking angel returns. He had a data set of 136 complete investments, and shared some findings from the HALO reports (released quarterly). Average deal size was $915,000, while the median was $505,000. 70% of outcomes in the Halo dataset are failures. … Continue reading →

]]>Friday marked the 9th Seattle Angel Conference. I spent the day at Impact HUB, watching the pitches and mingling in the crowd. This is the second SAC I’ve volunteered at, and I noticed an increase in attendance from November’s event.

The day started off with several alumni updates previous events, a few open remarks by John Sechrest, and then Bob Crimmins laid out the agenda for the rest of the day.

Wade Brooks, executive director of Angel Resource Institute, spoke about tracking angel returns. He had a data set of 136 complete investments, and shared some findings from the HALO reports (released quarterly). Average deal size was $915,000, while the median was $505,000. 70% of outcomes in the Halo dataset are failures. For experienced angels, it’s no surprise 10% of your companies provide all your returns. To summarize, as an angel investor, all your early indicators are going to be bad. You need to be in a lot of deals, with the hope of being in a big winner, if you ever want to see great returns.

There were 6 fantastic pitches (from the 60+ original applicants):

Brian Bosche from Slope. The technology backbone to allow companies to scale their content production. Businesses spent $160 billion per year on content last year, and their target market is $232 million in the United States alone. Jigar Mody was the lead on due diligence.

Vishal Joshi from Joy Life. Joy is an all in one wedding experience. Shared gifts. Brings strangers, friends, family & vendors closer together. They are already seeing use among 800 couples across 75 countries. Sanjay Bhatia led due diligence.

Erik Klavins from Aquarium. An operating system for life sciences allowing precise experimental results, which can be transferred and reproduced between labs. The more I think about this opportunity, the more excited I get about it. The prospect of a standard operating system for every lab in the world seems probable on a long time horizon. Geoff Harris led due diligence.

Ron Epperson from Crystal Clear Technologies. CCT removes and recovers heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, copper, zinc, and others, as well as nonmetal selenium and radio nucleides, including uranium. Focused on the 1200 US power plants facing compliance with EPA regulations. Mark Neuhausen led due diligence.

Allison Magyar from Hubb. Hubb is a software as a service model that automates the business process for collecting, managing and marketing the abstracts, speakers and sponsors for conferences and meetings. Guru Ranganathan led due diligence.

Evan Hiner from Prolera. Prolera makes it easy for professionals to manage, complete, and maximize the continuing professional education (CPE) they’re required to complete to maintain their licenses. They started with accounting (under the name CPE Suite), but have re-branded to allow them to capture mindshare across more verticals. Richard von Hagel led due diligence.

Following the pitches, Jack Smith and Robi Ganguly did a fireside chat. Robi provided some great insights into early stage funding, the differences between Seattle and San Francisco in both entrepreneur and investors, and hiring. I was particularly impressed with his emphasis on people. I agree with him that, as a business, you must love your customers, and they must love you.

After much deliberation, Daniel Kao, SAC’s fund manager, presented the winner. Hubb was awarded $155,000 in investment, and Crystal Clear Technologies was awarded $80,000 as the runner up.

All in all, it was a great day for the Seattle angel community building relationships and exposure to great startups.

]]>http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/15/seattle-angel-conference-ix-recap/feed/0Horizon’s Android is Ready for Open Testing, with Sublet Supporthttp://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/08/horizons-android-ready-open-testing/
http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2016/05/08/horizons-android-ready-open-testing/#respondMon, 09 May 2016 01:53:57 +0000http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/?p=5866We released our Android beta of Horizon on Product Hunt. The big change in the product is that we now support posting and finding sublet opportunities. Most people find a shared room to live in for several months the exact same way they find a place crash for 2 or 3 nights — but sublets come with a much stronger host incentive to fill their room (since they are paying for that room regardless of if someone is living in it). If you are on Android, please give it a go and let me know what you think. PS: Do you or someone you know have a room you’re looking to sublet? I’d especially love feedback from … Continue reading →